A low key story about learning to trust in the most extreme ways, not just from a sex/romance perspective, but in the most basic of human interactions. The romance such as it is takes a back seat to Eric's first steps towards recovery.
This broke my heart a little but in a positive way.
I'd like to at least have the author to pay lip service to Eric getting some professional help in the future because he really was that broken and kindness can only go so far.
Beautiful but sometimes harsh writing.
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A low key story about learning to trust in the most extreme ways, not just from a sex/romance perspective, but in the most basic of human interactions. The romance such as it is takes a back seat to Eric's first steps towards recovery.
This broke my heart a little but in a positive way.
I'd like to at least have the author to pay lip service to Eric getting some professional help in the future because he really was that broken and kindness can only go so far.
Beautiful but sometimes harsh writing.
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3.75 Stars ( )

Disturbing, powerful, and gruesomely realistic are all words that could describe this story. But so are amazing, loving, and hopeful. This is not a tale for the faint-hearted and I found it especially difficult to read because this sort of situation does happen. This is not fantasy or science fiction, or something unreal. Teenagers like Eric exist, and it makes me so mad I could spit nails that they are being treated like trash instead of human beings. What happens to him is heartbreaking, and I am relieved the story starts where it does – with the first genuine glimmer of hope that things may get better for Eric. The past is talked about, and lives through his memories, but at least there is hope. Eric does not see it like that straight away – and I can’t blame him for being suspicious. He has been disappointed to many times.

Eric goes through hell, several times over, and ends up believing he is not worth anyone’s effort. He has been so abused that he doesn’t even dare believe anyone out there would be willing to help him. The lack of self-confidence is one of his biggest enemies on the road to discovery, but entirely realistic. He is slow to believe, and even at the end of the story he isn’t back to where he should be in terms of mental and emotional stability, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Marcus is an amazing young man. He works hard and isn’t rich, but he basically has a good life. His parents love him, and he has never experienced what it is like to be rejected for being gay. His determination to help Eric is admirable and impressive, and the lengths he goes to so he can make things right for Eric are considerable. Even though romance blooms, Marcus holds himself back because of what Eric needs. I am confident they will eventually have a healthy relationship, but it will take a very long time and professional help (something Eric is only beginning to be ready for at the end of the book) for them to get there.

If you want to know what it’s like to be rejected, abused, and unable to trust anyone, if a young man who has suffered through hell and slowly learns to maybe trust again piques your interest, and if you’re looking for a read that is as disturbing and gut-wrenching as it is hopeful and even heartwarming, then you will probably be as impressed with this novella as I am. I think it’s a remarkable piece of writing.
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